JBS Australia has completed its $175 million acquisition of pig breeder and processing company Rivalea and Singapore based Oxdale Dairy Enterprise. JBS announced the deal in June 2021.
JBS Australia CEO Brent Eastwood said he looks forward to Rivalea joining the group.
“Rivalea is a crucial part of Australia’s pork supply chain and we believe we can work together to create an improved and more efficient pork processing business for Rivalea customers, by using JBS’s experience as a major meat and food processor,” Eastwood said.
In September last year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) raised concerns JBS could restrict access from third-party service kills provided by Rivalea’s Diamond Valley Pork abattoir as well as frustrating access to fresh pork for rival companies.
In December, the ACCC said it would not oppose the acquisition after finding it was unlikely to substantially lessen competition in other markets. The commission also concluded it was unlikely JBS would have the incentive to foreclose or frustrate access to fresh domestic pork for its wholesale and smallgoods competitors because of existing alternative fresh pork suppliers.
JBS has provided all Diamond Valley Pork abattoir customers, local pork groups including the Victorian Farmers Federation and the ACCC assurance that it will continue to provide services kills and grow its customer base in writing.
“JBS has a long and proud history of supporting and growing its Australian and New Zealand businesses over the long-term, investing heavily in its local operations and domestic brands, while at the same time providing employment opportunities and supporting the regional economies in which we operate. We will employ this same locally minded approach at Rivalea,” said Eastwood.
